A Two-Ingredient Topping
Macerated strawberries are an unbelievably easy and versatile alternative to strawberry pie filling or strawberry syrup. They’re made with just sugar and fresh berries, and you can have them prepped in only five minutes! If you’re not familiar with maceration, it’s a very hands-off technique to soften and break down berries or other fruits. By simply adding sugar to cut the berries, they’ll become juicer and sweeter, and their flavor will intensify. The whole process works quickly, but you do need to allot for a bit of time as they take about half an hour to an hour to macerate. Serve your macerated berries over pound cake, waffles or crepes, angel food cake, or enjoy them on their own. They also make a delicious snack with some homemade whipped cream–yum!
What You Need
Technically you only need two ingredients to macerate strawberries, but you can add in some extras if you’re so inclined:
Strawberries. Because maceration adds sweetness and intensifies flavor, this technique is especially great for out-of-season berries that lack the brightness of in-season berries. Fresh-picked, in-season berries will likely already be pretty soft, flavorful, and juicy and won’t benefit in the same way from maceration. Sugar. I like to use regular granulated sugar, but honey, brown sugar, maple syrup, or coconut sugar would also work. Add-ins. While not necessary, you can add things like lemon juice, liqueur, and even vinegar (yes, vinegar!) to your berries for flavor. I’ve included a few of my favorites in the recipe notes. I know balsamic vinegar and pepper may seem an unlikely pairing to strawberries, but they truly taste amazing together!
SAM’S TIP: While I’m using strawberries today, you can macerate pretty much any berry or fruit (peach slices are delicious macerated in sugar!). Fruits like cherries with a thicker skin will just need to macerate longer. After you’ve macerated your berries, serve them over warm homemade biscuits for simple strawberry shortcakes!
How to Make Macerated Strawberries
SAM’S TIP: Liqueur such as Grand Marnier is sometimes used to macerate strawberries and also adds a nice flavor. I’ve included instructions for how to incorporate this in the recipe notes below. Macerated strawberries are the perfect topping for everything from buttermilk pancakes to a thick slice of sour cream pound cake (pictured above). Enjoy! Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
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